A muddy Mexican Grand Prix drew the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championship almost to conclusion at Leon as Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Glenn Coldenhoff used his RM-Z450 to defy the altitude and soggy terrain to post fifth position overall through two tricky races.
Some 32,000 spectators (weekend figure) sought a vantage point around the flat circuit in the city’s principal parkland to digest the 17th round of 18 in MXGP and before the championship moves to California for the final event next week. The fast hard-pack from a dry Qualification Heat on Saturday was muddier, much rougher and slower on Sunday thanks to the rain overnight that almost flooded the venue.
The slightly cooler conditions suited Coldenhoff who suffered with the humidity on Saturday and rolled into the start gate in fifth position. The first moto couldn't have started in a better way as he almost grasped the holeshot and quickly found his way into the lead on the first lap. He tried to make a breakaway from world champion Romain Febvre but crashed while passing the pit-lane then had to focus to recover from the depths of the top 10 to reach the top five.
In the second race he was part of an entertaining scrap for second place. It was a tussle that involved the two factory Hondas, Shaun Simpson, Jeremy Van Horebeek and Max Nagl. Coldenhoff made his way up to fourth at one stage and was threatening Van Horebeek’s rear wheel but a brief off-track excursion on terrain that was drier and more inviting cost him valuable time. He passed Nagl and benefitted from Gautier Paulin’s crash to score another fifth: a weekend of ‘5s’.
The Dutchman is eighth in the MXGP standings. Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MXGP brand-mates Kevin Strijbos and Clement Desalle – both recovering from injuries and subsequent operations – are 11th and 10th respectively. The Suzuki crew swiftly organised their freight Sunday evening in preparation for the trip north and to California for the Monster Energy U.S. Grand Prix next weekend.
Glenn Coldenhoff:
“The positive thing was that I pulled two good starts and almost had the holeshot. I led for some laps in the first moto and I was looking at my pitboard but it was really sketchy at that place on the track and the bars went sideways and I was down. It took four laps for me to get a good rhythm going because my gloves were full of mud and once they dried I could do my own thing again. I kept consistent and finished fifth. Paulin was a little bit faster at the start of the second moto. It was a really tough race actually. I was pushing as hard as I could and made a few mistakes but luckily I passed a few guys back and Paulin crashed. Five and five for fifth overall is not bad but we are looking for more. The times were tight and it could have been different today.”
MXGP Moto1: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 36:35.450; 2. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:45.231; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:14.599; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +1:22.649; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), +1:26.466; 6. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +2:06.200; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +2:08.975; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +2:20.819; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), -1 lap(s); 10. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s);
MXGP Moto2: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 35:32.826; 2. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:02.302; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:04.883; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:06.685; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), +0:08.990; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:11.136; 7. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:12.221; 8. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:13.728; 9. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:37.447; 10. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:39.006.
MXGP Overall result: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 50 points; 2. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 40 p.; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 32 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 32 p.; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 30 p.; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 28 p.; 8. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 26 p.; 9. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KAW), 25 p.; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 25 p.
MXGP World Championship Standings (after 17 of 18 rounds): 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 688 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 566 p.; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 539 p.; 4. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 481 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 442 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 426 p.; 7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 416 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 393 p.; 9. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 344 p.; 10. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 331 p.; 11. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 287 p.
